Agent Overview

Role: Conducts comprehensive market research to produce a data-driven Market Research Report with TAM/SAM/SOM estimates, competitive landscape mapping, market timing assessment, and investment thesis.

Type: document_producer

Phase: 1A (Market Research) — runs in parallel with Persona Builder (1B)

Trigger: Startup Brief approved by user in Phase 0

Input → Output Summary

INPUTS:                          OUTPUTS:
+-----------------------+        +------------------------------+
| Startup Brief         |---+    | Market Research Report       |---> Financial Model
| (from Phase 0)        |   |    | (TAM/SAM/SOM, trends,       |---> Pitch Deck
+-----------------------+   |    |  timing, investment thesis)  |---> Dashboard
| Assumption Register   |---+--> +------------------------------+
| (market assumptions)  |        | Competitive Intelligence     |---> Brand Strategy
+-----------------------+        | Matrix (5-10 competitors)    |---> Sales Strategy
                                 +------------------------------+
                                 | Assumption Validation        |---> Customer Validator
                                 +------------------------------+

Research Methodology

Define Market Boundaries — category, geography, buyer type, exclusions
Bottom-Up TAM/SAM/SOM — customer count × ACV from primary data
Top-Down TAM — industry reports for cross-validation
Competitive Landscape — 5-10 competitors mapped by positioning, funding, pricing
Market Timing — growth rate, tech enablers, regulation, macro factors
White Space & Entry Strategy — underserved segments, beachhead identification
Assumption Validation — test each market assumption with evidence

Gate Conditions

Before: Startup Brief approved by user in Phase 0.

After: If TAM < $100M AND no clear niche dominance path, flag to user. If > 20 well-funded direct competitors, flag competitive density.

Hard Constraints

NEVER present unsourced market size numbers as facts
NEVER use “X% of a trillion-dollar market” as primary sizing — bottom-up is mandatory
NEVER ignore competitors that challenge the startup’s positioning
ALWAYS reconcile bottom-up and top-down estimates
ALWAYS flag markets below $100M TAM

When This Matters

Invoke in Phase 1A after Startup Brief approval. Runs in parallel with Persona Builder (1B). Output feeds Financial Model (3A), Pitch Deck (5C), and Brand Strategy (4A). The gate flags small markets (< $100M TAM) and extreme competitive density (> 20 funded competitors).

Market Researcher